1969 Chevrolet Camaro Found in Lake Foss with Six Bodies Inside

After decades of searching, an Oklahoma mystery may be solved

On September 18th, 2013, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol discovered six remains at the bottom of Lake Foss in Custer County, Oklahoma. The bodies are thought to have been missing for many decades, as they were found still inside two classic cars: a blue 1969 Chevrolet Camaro and a dark 1952 Chevrolet.

"We thought it was just going to be stolen vehicles, and that's not what it turned out to be, obviously," spokeswoman Betsy Randolph said.

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Authorities were testing new sonar equipment Tuesday, September 17th, 2013, when they stumbled onto the vehicles containing skeletal remains in the water.

Three bodies were in the 1950s Chevrolet model that reportedly belonged to a couple from Canute, Oklahoma, who disappeared on their way to Foss Lake in the 1960s. The third body had not been identified at the time.

The second car, a 1969 Chevy Camaro, also had three bodies inside. They are believed to be three teenagers who were reported missing from the Sayre area, 40 miles southwest, in the early 1970s.

The teens, 16-year-old Jimmy Allen Williams, 18-year-old Thomas Rios and 18-year-old Leah Johnson, were last seen in Williams’ blue Camaro on Nov. 20, 1970, which was never found. The three high school friends were going to a football game in Elk City, but may have detoured to go hunting at Foss Lake, according to notes by the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
“We're hoping these individuals, that this is going to bring some sort of closure to some families out there who have been waiting to hear about missing people," said Randolph. "If that's the case, then we're thrilled we were able to bring some sort of closure to those families."

Sheriff Bruce Peoples told the Elk City Daily News he was a little more comfortable matching the three missing teens to the Camaro, and investigators had some promising leads on the people found in the Chevy.

“But we’re a long way from saying it's solved yet, because we just don't have that much confirmed," Peoples said.

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1969 Chevrolet Camaro Found in Lake Foss with Six Bodies Inside

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When Leah Johnson, Michael Rios, and Jimmy Williams all jumped in Williams’ new 1969 Camaro and headed for a high school football game in 1970, no one could have imagined that it was the last time the three teenagers would be seen alive and thriving...this was the start of a mystery decades old. » Read More